Childish x Wonder
by MysteriousKitts
Summary: Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it. -Charles R Swindoll, It only took them one step, one desire and one need for them to start a chain reaction in their lives. Still working on Revisions
1. Hunter x Regret

Despite her small stature, many of the people on Greed Island percieved Sakura as an incredible young girl.

Sakura possessed boundless amounts of talent and was even the granddaughter of Lady Tsunade, an incredible hunter that practically innovated the medical field.

However, no amount of talent could save Sakura from a dark secret a few people knew about.

Her impulsivity.

Mix that in with love and you have a terrifying conclusion.

* * *

She had a mission.

At least that's what kept her mind off her anxious thoughts and clammy hands.

It wasn't really working.

As the distance shortened, her heart began to speed up. Suddenly a barrage of thoughts weighed down on her mind.

 _Am I really going through with this?_

 _How will Grandma Tsunade react?_

 _I'm gonna be all alone._

 _Grandma Tsunade is gonna whoop my ass when she finds out about this..._

But her stringy legs wouldn't stop, they carried her and her heavy backpack to the ship without fail.

She couldn't stop because she was afraid. She sighed as she began to reminisce about particular ebony eyed young man.

Sasuke.

She was afraid that if she didn't find him now.

Then she might lose him forever.

* * *

A loud thump came from her head as it clashed against the ship's bare wood. A throbbing spike of pain spread like wildfire across her body.

She hated boats.

A loud crack of thunder bellowed from above and drops of rain allowed her cherry blossom hair to cover her angry emerald eyes.

Scratch that, she really hated boats.

While she hugged her knees together she began to hum to herself. Whenever she was upset, Sasuke would try to calm her down by singing a song his own mother taught him.

She chuckled a bit. He wasn't a very good singer but it was a very pretty song.

Sakura recalled the first time she heard the song. It was maybe three years ago and she still had it clear in her mind.

She was trying to impress Sasuke by imitating Tsunade's enhanced strength.

Basically, she punched a boulder really hard and expected it to crack.

It didn't, she ended up with a bruised hand and dry eyes from crying. But she went home with a bubbly aura because she remembered the small smile on his face while he sang the song to calm her down.

Sasuke said his mother used to force him into piano lessons and that was the only song he liked to play.

Maybe because his mother made it?

Sasuke never liked talking about his family, so she kept any slight details about them in a safe place in her memory.

That's probably why she remembered after all these years.

Or maybe it was the earful her grandmother gave her about being safe.

Nonetheless, the song was very special to her and by humming it she could feel her wary thoughts fade away.

Slowly, despite the stirring ship and the loud cracks of thunder she fell asleep.

She opened her heavy eyes and allowed her blurry vision to wander the boat.

Oh right, she ran away...

Sakura felt like she had been knocked out completely as her body and especially her back felt heavy from fatigue.

The pink haired girl hissed at the golden ribbons of sunlight seeping into her tired eyes.

As she became more aware of her surroundings she noticed the boat had met its destination and that people were quickly finding their way out. Sakura quickly followed suit despite her sore and tired state.

The trip to the eventual hunter exam was a long and boring one with trivial challenges including her stomach rumbling.

In the elevator, she enjoyed the peace and quiet nature at first but slowly became more anxious.

She was far from prepared for any challenges, she had confidence in her abilities but couldn't help second-guessing herself. Apart of her wanted to run back home as it was a relatively peaceful and safe place. But her motivation and will to bring _him_ back was too strong.

There was no going back now, no place for her to hide in.

The ding of the elevator made her jump as she was so far deep in her thoughts that she began to forget the world around her.

She had a tendency to do that actually.

She slowly walked in the room filled with near suffocating tension, she began to feel a little ill. It looks like she was the only kid here too. She frowned but reminded herself she wasn't here to make friends.

Until she met the pales eyes of an even paler skinned child.

Those eyes reminded her of lilac.


	2. Hunter x Friend

In mere seconds the young girl from the other side of the room slightly jumped from the eye contact and quickly looked away. Sakura couldn't help but study the young girl for a while. The young girl had a dark blue hime cut with choppy bangs and most polarizing was her lilac colored eyes. Her body language gave off a timid and meek aura, for example, she had her back hunched with her shoulders closed in. She was also fairly jittery with her eyes solely facing the floor.

Sakura didn't believe she was a judgemental person however the paled eyed girl didn't seem like the most adept person here, in fact, Sakura couldn't but feel worried for her. She was told by Tsunade that it wasn't surprising for people to die in the exam.

She really hoped the girl would be ok.

"Hello, please take a number."

Sakura quickly took the number and attached it onto her chest.

"Um, thank you." As the messenger walked away, Sakura began to stare at him, he kinda looked like a gumdrop.

The people at this exam are weird.

"You seem to be new around here." A kid most likely in his late teens with glasses and ghostly white hair approached her.

Sakura furrowed her brow and gave an inquisitive look. "How can you tell I'm new…"

"Just a hunch, after all this is my thirty-fifth attempt." He stated with a boisterous laugh.

"That really isn't something to be proud of.." She muttered with a skeptical face.

"My name is Kabuto."

"I'm Sakura." Kabuto really didn't seem that impressive to her until she stopped and began to think.

"With so much experience you must have a lot of knowledge in terms of certain advantages you could put to use in the exams!" Sakura was suddenly feeling much more hopeful about her chances.

"Nope, the exams change every year however I do have some info on the challengers," Kabuto said with an unnaturally happy smile.

Sakura naturally deflated as she didn't really care about the challenges all that much, except for maybe the paled eyed girl.

Sakura was about to shut down his request until a young boy slowly walked past her, spiky opaque hair and a stern frown.

She snickered at the love sign on his head, he looks so mean but the tattoo totally throws off the look.

Kabuto seemed to notice her interest in the boy and was quick to comment.

"That's Gaara, Prince of the Sand Village, gifted young man, well maybe not in the eyebrow department." Kabuto jovially chirped in with a know it all aura.

Sakura gasped, "He's a prince!" She admitted she was a sucker for fairytales so seeing someone of royalty made her legs wobbly.

"Maybe in the title but in personality, he's not exactly mild mannered. Not surprising due to the amount of isolation he lived under." Kabuto solemnly looked at the boy.

"Wait, what about iso-" Sakura had even more questions now.

A loud alarm went off and the ground beneath her began to shake as the entry slowly opened.

"Well it seems likes it about time for the exam to start, I'll see you around." Kabuto waved goodbye and was on his way.

"Wait, but-." She sighed, she barely learned anything...

She wishes they had enough time to talk about the girl with the hime cut too...

Sakura began walking in line with everyone else following a man with a goofy looking hairdo and mustache.

She giggled to herself, he was walking kinda funny too.

"The first phase has already commenced, I will lead you to the second phase." The goofy looking man began to pick up the pace.

So the first phase is basically an endurance test. Sakura sighed she hoped it didn't go on for long, her endurance was fine but her patience was a whole other story.

* * *

Sakura's patience was wearing thin. Was she tired? Of course not. Her grandmother was practically a sadist that had made her go through much worse.

However, she was extremely bored.

She looked around her and noticed that by now half of the participants have already passed out. What was extremely surprising however was that the timid and fragile young girl was still going on strong without any signs of exhaustion.

The timid girl looked bored too.

Maybe she should go over to make conversation, making a friend here would quickly eat away at her boredom. The girl looked like she was around her age too.

She also really needed some friends outside of Sasuke and her grandmother.

She quickly turned her attention over to the nervous looking girl and ran over.

"Oi, what's your name," Sakura said awkwardly as she met her destination. She thought she was a pretty confident person but conversation starting was not a talent of hers.

Hinata was so flustered by the noise that she tripped in surprise. A given due to the loud and some would even say obnoxious voice directed at such a shy girl.

Both Sakura and Hinata's faces turned bright red in utter embarrassment.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you!" Sakura felt like their relationship was already off to a bad start.

Hinata began to slowly dust herself and get back up. "N-no that was my fault." It seemed like she had a bit of nervous tick as she would press her fingers together signifying she was uncomfortable. "Um, w-what were you asking a-again." Sakura noticed the girl had a stutter too.

"Your name," Sakura asked nonchalantly as if she didn't make the girl trip a second ago.

"I'm Hinata"

"I'm Sakura." The bubblegum haired girl put her arm out. "It's nice to meet you." Sakura gave a bright smile for extra measure.

Hinata looked at Sakura weirdly and hesitantly shook her hand "It's nice to m-meet you t-to."

Sakura was starting to feel a bit self-conscious, Hinata hesitance to shake her hand was probably due to her shy nature and skepticism but Sakura couldn't help but feel nervous.

"H-How old are y-you, I-I'm twelve," Hinata asked with a bit of childlike gleam. Hinata genuinely seemed a little excited to have someone to talk to despite her blatant skepticism.

"I'm twelve years old too!" Sakura was excited, no one on the island was around her age. That's probably why she had a lack of real friends back home.

Sakura could only infer that Hinata may have had a similar situation due to the look of glee that caused her eyes to glow up like a firefly.

"Aw man, this is so much better, I was getting so bored with running mindlessly, now I have someone to talk to," Sakura confessed with an exaggerated sigh.

Hinata slightly giggled and her small frame slightly relaxed next to Sakura, she felt comfortable running with the cherry blossom haired girl due to the girl practically voicing her own thoughts.

"If this is supposed to be one of the test's then the Hunter Exam should be a breeze, CHA!"

Sakura couldn't withhold her excitement. What was she worried about in the first place? She even has a fully capable friend by her side that would help her if she struggles.

She's gonna be a Hunter in no time.

Hinata couldn't contain her laughter. The Hyuga compound felt dull and lifeless especially after her mother had died. Sakura's vibrant and happy nature was a reminiscence of her mother. The mannerism's and energy Sakura would express were so close to her mother that it brought back fun and exciting memories.

"Y-you have a lot e-energy despite this being an endurance test," Hinata commented, seemingly impressed with Sakura.

"Right back at you, you don't look tired at all," Sakura stated with genuine surprise.

"Thank you." Hinata seemingly pleased with the compliment turned a little red. It was almost as if she wasn't complimented much if at all.

Weird, she didn't stutter that time.

 **Authors Note: This story is a lot of fun too write lol. I'm almost done with revisions and I'm working on the next chapter!**


	3. Hunter x Goals

She could feel her eyes twinkle in excitement at the sight of the stairs and as she looked over a fleeting ribbon of light sparkled in Hinata's eyes as well.

"T-the stairs.." Hinata spoke with breathless wonder as if her life and the world revolved around this one moment. This marathon was almost over and the two girls along with the fleet of challengers around them could barely hold their excitement.

"Hell yeah!" Sakura pumped her fist in the air as she jumped in joy and relish. She felt a burst of pumping blood and energy stream down her veins, she steady herself to pick up the pace until she saw Hinata stop.

Hinata face morphed into a grimace as she put her fingers in front of her eyes performing some kind of hand sign. Bulging veins formed at the side of her face and her eyes stared straight ahead widening slightly in surprise only to switch back into focus.

"The stairs are much l-longer than you m-may think.." Hinata said with a depressed sigh. When she met Sakura's eye's they were still brimming with excitement, perhaps for something else.

"That was so cool Hinata!" Sakura limited experience with eye techniques were with Sasuke and ever since him she had always been fascinated by them.

Well she was practically fascinated with everything Sasuke had to offer.

"O-Oh the b-byakugan, it's a t-technique I-I learned from my c-clan, the Hyuga." Hinata rubbed her head bashfully, she was once again embarrassed by a compliment.

"A clan, like a ninja clan." Sakura didn't get, why give up the badass life of a ninja in the shadows, to be a dirty hunter. She furrowed her brow. "You chose being a hunter over a freaking ninja."

She couldn't really talk since she was becoming a hunter herself but it was still mind boggling.

"I'm not r-really f-fit nor talented e-enough to be a n-ninja." Hinata lowered her head as well as her pale eyes. Her voice was getting lower making it hard to pick up on. "I-I'm so untalented I-I l-lost m-my t-title as heir, I-I don't want t-to be g-given disappointed looks anymore."

"I-I heard that by b-becoming a-a hunter you can becoming stronger." Hinata voice became stronger as it started to back up with determination. "You learn more and experience more as a hunter." Her eyes were now glowing with excitement. "By becoming a hunter I can make my parents proud and bring the Hyuga a great name."

She focused her eyes back on Sakura. "I'm s-sorry for rambling-." She was quickly interrupted by Sakura fierce eyes burning in her own.

"Don't apologize, when your not being doubtful and you show confidence your so much cooler than you realize." Sakura said with forceful and serious emphases on her words.

Hinata ducked her head making it difficult to see her smile. "T-thank you." Sakura however sighed despite her slight smile. "Geez Hinata were you even listening, hold yourself with more confidence."

They began to run some more in slight comfortable silence if you ignored the desperate gasping of other competitors. Finally reaching and moving up some of the stairs Hinata began to speak up. "Why a-are you becoming a h-hunter Sakura." Hinata looked to her right in genuine curiosity.

"Love." Sakura stated simply as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"L-love for w-who?" Hinata asked obviously wanting a more clear answer.

Sakura squinted her eyes thinking hard about her response. "Back home when I was younger I would consistently get myself in trouble just for the rush." She smiled from the memories.

"Of course one incident got me into so much trouble, I almost died." She bursted out in laughter from Hinata mortified face. "That's when I met him, he saved my life and apparently he was a hunter, I wanted to be just like him."

"I began to follow him around and because of my constant nagging we trained together, I was only able to keep up because of previous training with my grandmother." Sakura closed her eyes while telling the tale. "Soon my idolizing turned to love as we spent more time together."

"But he soon became consumed with hatred over the genocide of his clan." Sakura voice became slightly strained. "He left me for revenge and now I'm gonna haul his ass back whether he likes it or not." Despite her strained voice she smiled at Hinata as sign of determination.

Hinata smiled back with an even brighter smile. "I-I believe in you."

Sakura snorted. "You better, now let's get away from this gross sappy stuff." Sakura eyes gleamed with mischief. "Hey, I got an idea, let's race."

"U-um sure that s-sounds l-like fun, I'll t-try to catch u-up." Hinata was excited, she used to play games like this with her cousin before they grew apart.

"Hinata you mean you will, catch up or even perhaps beat me." Sakura sighed Hinata really needed more confidence.

"O-of course." Hinata was too excited to care about her habits.

* * *

"T-the light!" Hinata exclaimed with a sudden burst in energy.

"Finally we can get out of the dark tunnel!" Sakura grinned with a jolly attitude.

As they quicken there pace, Sakura felt a new rush of excitement and doses of euphoric senses rush to her head. When she turned her head she believed Hinata was feeling the same thing due to her excited eyes.

"Goal!" They both yelled in unison with childlike joy and bubbling laughter that made their cheeks sore.

"Yay, I win!" Sakura said in excitement.

"I-I don't k-know Sakura I think I-I was faster. "Hinata said with slight uncertainty in her own words.

"Oh ho, little Hinata growing up." Sakura giggled as she saw Hinata blush and shrivel up "But alas I still totally think I won."

Sakura turned to face the tall man with the mustache. "Hey, old man, who was faster."

"You crossed the finish line simultaneously." He stated in complete deadpan however on the inside he was brimming with surprise.

"Aw, too bad, let's race again alright Hinata." Sakura sighed in disappointment, all that energy for a tie.

"S-sure." Hinata smiled she had a lot of fun with this race.


	4. Hunter x Hero

It surprised Sakura at how many people made it after the first part of phase one. Grandma Tsunade would always go on and on about how much of a challenge the exams were.

But then again, her grandmother was very fond of exaggerating.

A short introduction about the rest of the first phase was given and the tall man with the funny way of walking spoke about the location they were about to enter.

Apparently, the animals of the area depended on deceptive tactics in order to catch prey. This high level of deception led to its name, Swindler's Swamp. The objective was to follow him through the swamp to the next phase.

In short another boring cardio exercise with some animals that have magic tricks.

How scary, she thought sarcastically. So far the Hunter Exams had been a total joke.

* * *

It was only a matter of time before Sakura had taken back her initial thoughts. Screams of terror erupted around her every few minutes, only for the sound of silence to encase her once again.

She also admitted to herself that the fog was slightly unnerving. It was as if there were always hints of something hiding within the thick, gray air. Tricking both her eyes and senses.

Sakura also found the muggy wet ground to be an issue. It treated her feet like suction cups and was a difficult surface to run on.

Only her friend could distract her from fear.

"After t-the e-exam where do y-you think you'll go." Hinata's soft voice piped up shaking Sakura out of her thoughts.

Those words caused Sakura to almost trip over herself. Where was she going? She kinda came to the exams impulsively, no true game plan in mind.

She sheepishly grinned at Hinata, "To be honest, I have no idea."

Hinata almost choked on her spit, " You have n-no idea!"

"None," Sakura snickered at Hinata's surprised face, "What about you, where are you going Hinata?"

"W-Well, I was- I mean, only if you-" Her voice was cut off short as a scowl marred her soft features.

Veins popped at the side of her lilac eyes as she began scanning the area around her.

"Sakura, stop!" With a spike of adrenaline, Hinata pulled at the pink haired girl's arm causing her to fall on the ground.

Before Sakura could say anything, she quickly noticed how the path led to a spike pit.

"T-the crow was i-imitating the examiner's v-voice, leading u-us in the wrong path." Hinata piped up with a bashful look on her face.

"I s-should've k-kept my b-byakugan on, I can be s-such an airhead s-sometimes." Hinata's voice heightened and her body wilted.

Was Hinata scared that she would be mad at her?

"I'm really s-sorry, I-I can see w-where the test e-examiner i-is, just f-follow-"

"H-Hinata, you saved my life!" Sakura pounced on Hinata with all her strength and energy, displaying her gratitude with a tight hug.

Maybe a little too tight.

"S-Sakura, your killing m-me, I can't b-breathe!" Despite Sakura's strong hug, Hinata couldn't help but laugh.

While loosening her grip on Hinata, she smiled warmly, "Thank you."

Hinata, surprised at the sudden warmness became flustered, "Your welcome."

* * *

As time blended together every muscle in her body began to twitch. Her legs were shaking and her eyes were red from the constant straining. She wasn't used to using her byakugan for so long.

Yet, Hinata was still smiling, refusing to shatter her new found pride within herself. She felt like a strong pillar or even a hero that Sakura was relying on.

The childlike desire to be a hero from your usual fairytales and Sunday cartoons was quickly growing by the minute.

It was something from Sakura's stunned gaze that brought back these feelings.

All her life she had been trying to earn respect and prestige. From her siblings, father and her clan, pretty much everyone she knew. It was only natural, remote response and desire stemming from a young age. Despite her strong desire she never could live up to their expectations, especially her father's.

Maybe if she was just a little bit smarter, faster or just more like Neji. Then maybe she would be enough.

But every time she grew the bar would get higher, she would always get so close but it was never enough.

It was never enough for him.

He was never satisfied.

But for some insane reason, it was enough for Sakura. For the first time since her mother's death, Hinata was hit with someone's awestruck eyes because they thought she was amazing.

That's why she needed to smile, to reassure Sakura that she wasn't a liability and that she need didn't to worry about her.

To keep up the image of being something great, a hero.

She needed Sakura to keep thinking she was amazing.

"Hinata, are you okay?" Sakura's voice pierced through Hinata's thoughts.

She sucked in her breath as she shined Sakura a strained smile, "I'm fine, S-Sakura, d-don't worry-"

Her voice completely stopped as she saw Sakura run in front of her, crouching.

"Here, get on my back." Sakura smiled as she looked at Hinata's surprised face, "Just point towards the right direction and I'll carry you there."

"N-no!" she answered quickly "I mean, I-I'm fine, carrying me i-is t-totally unnecessary."

"Geez, Hinata doesn't be so stubborn, it's not like we're cheating or anything. Don't tell me you're scared of getting in trouble." Sakura teased the timid girl, pulling her mouth into a smirk.

"I'm n-not afraid of t-that!" Hinata quickly said she paused for a minute before she gave in, "I-I'll get on your b-back."

As Hinata climbed onto the pinkette's back she found herself confused. Sakura's worried eyes should've frustrated her.

But it didn't, instead, she felt good, happy. It was almost as if Sakura gave Hinata something she desired, something her mother had.

Maybe it wasn't just prestige Hinata was yearning for, maybe it was a sense of care as well.

Sakura wasn't angry, just very annoyed.

* * *

Both her and Hinata had settled into a comfortable and warm silence, with the occasional small talk. Then suddenly, out of nowhere, a large dead frog comes flying at her.

Yes, you heard that right. A large frog that was seemingly dead.

Of course, like any normal person, she went over to find the origin and call out the perpetrator. Only to find the redheaded prince walking beside another boy that looked slightly older and more mature.

The boy was wearing a full-body black suit that created a cat ear effect on his head, his face consisted of face paint designs that made his natural features difficult to decipher.

Sakura allowed her eyes to shoot up in amazement, the prince struck her as more of a loner based on the aura.

"Were you two the ones that threw that frog?" Sakura asked softly.

The boy with the full body suit sneered at her and crossed his arms, "What's it to you?"

She really didn't like this kid's attitude, "I shouldn't have to dodge dead frogs to get to the end of this phase, please be more careful." Sakura could feel Hinata cling onto her back as the tension began to rise.

While Gaara remained silent, his friend could only scoff at Sakura's comment, "Don't care." It was evident by now that the young boy enjoyed getting a rise out of others.

And that pissed Sakura the hell off.


End file.
